American liberals have adopted a state sponsored religion. Instead of worshipping a God, however, it is the government they worship, and whom they expect us to worship.
When life is good, we are expected to pay tithes to the government, for it is the government that has bestowed upon us the opportunity to earn such money. The more money we make, the more we give the govt, for "the govt. loves a cheerful giver".
When life is bad, it is the government who is to blame. It doesn't matter if we built out house on the floodplain, the omniscient govt. is here to deliver us from our foolishness. And to give us the money they've confiscated from those who are more fortunate.
The problem in such a mentality is inherent. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people, is necessarily infected with the imperfections that people possess. They may take money, but they NEVER spend it wisely, spending it first and foremost on those closest to them, and last on those who could truly benefit. As a result, those most needy are least likely to receive benefits from these programs.
A government of compassion makes a person sound warm and fuzzy. But the sad truth is, it's hard to find a person who is truly compassionate, let alone enough of them to elect to make a meaningful difference in any legislature, be it state or federal. And another truth is, it is simply NOT the government's job to be compassionate. The government's primary job is to defend its borders and ensure domestic tranquility. Now, while it may be true that an unfettered form of economic feudalism would hinder domestic tranquility because the poor would be bordering on the edge of revolt, the truth is everytime that the US has trended in that direction, there have been enough individuals endowed with common sense to keep us from totally falling over the edge.
We must realize that the government is a poor place in which to put our trust. Yes, we need to care for the poor amongst us, but we need to be doing it as individuals, not pawning that duty off on the government. If I see a stranger on the road to Damascus, I'm going to stop and help, not use my cell phone to cal 911. And if we all took a hand in helping the "least of these", we could put government "charities" out of business.
I have said repeatedly and will say again that I will not put down the heart of the American liberals. To a person, I believe, they want to help. But I WOULD encourage them to take a hard look at the programs they propose and ask if they really WOULD do good, or if a simple helping hand would be better?